


One Hell of A Bride

by SummoningMutations



Series: Of Dance and Theme Parks [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amusement Park, Armin sings, Celtic, Crossdressing??, Dancing, Fluff, Irish step dance, M/M, Show Business, theme park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 06:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7606843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummoningMutations/pseuds/SummoningMutations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a show in the middle of the theme park. In that show, you can find the best Irish Step Dancers you've ever seen. They have traditional Celtic music, an authentic set, and occasionally a green-eyed brat in a dress. </p><p>Levi has worked in this show for as long as he's lived in America, dancing and entertaining others. He doesn't dislike his job, per se, but sometimes life just likes to give him the middle finger. After a week away, Levi returns to see that he's been cast as the Groom of the show for the week; Petra cast as his bride. When a freak accident happens and Petra's left unable to dance, who will fill in her shoes just hours before the first showing? </p><p>I think we all know who'd make one hell of a bride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I based this fic off of a show I saw in Busch Gardens. I also do not own Attack on Titan, and I most definitely do NOT own any of the characters. I just pushed them all together and wrote a thing I thought was cute.  
> If you want to watch this show but there isn’t a Busch Gardens anywhere near you. You can find it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHnVY17osKg) And since I’m Ereri trash, I decided to see what would happen if I mixed them together. This story is not based on the show but based on the idea that they all work at this show in an amusement park. I have never worked in an amusement park, so if some things aren’t right, forgive me. now  
> ONTO THE FIC

The amusement park is silent in the early morning heat. Pieces of trash, forgotten to be swept up the day before, blows across the fake cobble-stoned street. The fake, Irish shops have yet to be opened, and everything looks eerie when it’s so empty. A fog settled over the park, making it look deserted, and at such an early hour, it _is_ essentially abandoned.

            Levi’s here at this ungodly time for rehearsals. He had his week-long break, and it’s time to get back to the grind and bust his ass off another week. Despite popular belief, Levi actually enjoys his job. He would’ve quit long ago if he didn’t. But the job pays well, and he’s doing what he loves.

            Growing up in Ireland helped of course. Levi’s mother was an Irish step dancer, and through her, he found his passion. And he’s lucky as fuck because he found a way to make a living out of it. When he first arrived at the amusement park, they expected to have to train him, to teach him the basics. When they realized that he knew almost everything, they nearly hired him on the spot.

            Yes, Levi considers himself a lucky son of a bitch. His coworkers don’t step on his toes, and they don’t fry his nerves _all_ the time. He’s free to just perform the show in an air conditioned room, away from the heat of the outside. He doesn’t even have any lines to say. All he has to do is dance, and occasionally get the audience to clap along.

            The only part of this that he hates is the fact that he has to get up so goddamn early in the morning. But the first show starts at noon and if he wants to get any practice in, he has to arrive early. He might’ve gotten rusty during his week off, and he wouldn’t want to overstep and twist his ankle. _That_ would be bad.

            So when the theatre finally comes into view, he sighs with relief. There’s no back entrance to this part of the park seeing as it was dumped right in the middle, and he was forced to walk half-way across the park. He yanks open the painted-to-look-like-wood doors and is greeted kindly by the blast of cool air. There are a couple of the actors on the stage warming up, and Levi looks over the set, seeing if anything had changed in the week of his absence.

            The set is set up to look like an inn/pub. There’s a bar in the center of the stage, a fireplace to the right, a door to the left, and in the back corner sits some stairs that lead up to a changing room where actors change in the middle of the show. Tables are scattered around, mostly so actors can dance on them, but they’re also there to give it more of an authentic pub feel. If you look close enough, you can see the scuff marks of tap shoes scarring the wooden surfaces. Posters and paintings decorate the stage, and it’s all illuminated with warm colored lights. Nothing had changed, not that he’s expecting anything to.

            He spots Erwin, one of the directors, as well as an actor, sitting at one of the tables, going over a checklist, no doubt. He walks down the steps of the theatre and jumps up onto the stage with Erwin and the other dancers. “Hey, Erwin,” he greets. It’s his first day back after a week, he thinks he can spare his boss of the frumpy remarks at least for today.

            Erwin looks up from his list and smiles. “Welcome back, Levi,” he replies. “I trust you had a restful break.” Levi only nods, not really up for small talk. In reality, all he’d done that week was clean his apartment and caught up on the new season of Game of Thrones. It was boring as hell, and unlike most people, he doesn’t look forward to his next break. He’d much rather spend his time dancing on this stage.

            “Have you got the cast for this week up?” Levi asks instead of divulging Erwin in his quest to know more about Levi’s break. Every week was something different for the show. They switched up the cast to give others a break and to ensure that no show would be the same. Everyone had their own style of dancing, and it kept things interesting to see what others brought to the table in different parts. It also allowed the actors to take respective breaks. Erwin hums and hands Levi a sheet of paper.

 

Groom: Levi Ackerman

Bride: Petra Ral

Groomsman: Farlan Church, Eren Yeager, Oluo Bozado, Marco Bodt

 

            Levi didn’t bother to read the rest. He knew what part he was playing this week, and he was actually surprised to see that Erwin would give him one of the main parts as soon as he got back. Levi had played the Groom before, it was relatively easy. No lines, but he would be the one with the solo on top of the table, which is something that riddles him with anxiety every time. Something about standing that far off the ground, while his feet move at a fast paste, concerns him. But his irrational fear of dancing on that damn table has been shoved down. He’s done it before, and he’ll do it many times again.

            And of course, Petra would be his bride. He refuses to dance with anyone else and everyone else refuses to dance with him. To dance with someone, you have to explicitly trust them, no matter what. And he had that relationship with Petra. Plus, she was close to his height than any of the other dancers. They just fit together in the right ways.

            But there was one name that catches his eye. “Eren Yeager?” Levi scrunches his eyebrows. He’s never heard of that name before.

            “What about him?” Erwin asks, mirroring his confusion.

            “Who the hell is he?”

            “Oh, you would forget, wouldn’t you?” Erwin smiles and shakes his head. “Eren was a part of Group B. He usually does shows when you aren’t here, but he transferred to the A Group since Eld quit. I told you about this.” Levi faintly remembers Erwin telling him that they would have a new dancer on their team, but he didn’t really think much of it until now.

            “Is he any good?” Levi asks, frowning at the name on the paper.

            “Why don’t you ask him? Eren!” Levi’s head snaps up in time to see Erwin wave his hand, motioning for one of the actors to come over. A boy with a mop of brown hair pokes his head up, oddly reminding Levi of a dog. The boy, who couldn’t be over twenty, quickly jumps to his feet and skips the short distance to where Levi and Erwin are sitting.

            The first thing Levi notices about him is the disgusting sweatshirt with a suspicious stain on the front. _Who wears a sweatshirt in the middle of July anyway?_ Now that he thinks about it, it is a bit chilly in here. He shivers without realizing it. The next thing he notices are the boys eyes. He can’t tell what color they are, but he'd say they’re a blueish color.  In the warm lighting of the theatre, they look more goldish, but lights do that. There’s a goofy grin plastered on his face as he sweeps his hair out of his face. _Oh, my God, he’s hot._ Hot isn’t really the right word for it, Levi thinks. More like adorable, or gorgeous. With a baby face and wide eyes, it’s not hard for Levi’s imagination to go wild. Though, he quickly reels back in his thoughts, hoping no one notices the faint blush painting his cheeks a light shade of pink.

            “Yes, Erwin,” he says, glancing over Levi and giving him a nod of acknowledgment. Levi nods back.

            “Eren, this is Levi, he’s been away for a week. You two haven’t properly been introduced. Levi, this is Eren. You had a question for him.” _Oh, this bitch._

            Eren sticks out his hand, that adorable grin never leaving his face. Levi doesn’t really like to shake hands, but since it’s being offered to him by a gorgeous boy with no discernable eye color, he takes it anyway.

            “Are you any good?” Levi blurts out. He’s never had a filter between his brain and mouth. Normally, he comes off blunt, but other times, like now, he cringes at how stupid he sounds. _Honestly, what answer do you think you’ll get? If this kid has half a brain, of course, he’s going to say he’s good._  

            Luckily, Eren doesn’t laugh at him. Instead, he gives him a smile and says, “I think so. Are you?”

            Levi can’t help the smile that threatens to tug at his lips. Instead, he nods, not trusting his voice right now. He doesn’t know why, but the boy with big eyes makes him unsure. “I’m really excited to work with you,” Eren continues, seeing that Levi wasn’t going to say anything further. “I heard you actually came from Ireland?” It’s phrased like a question, letting Levi know that he thinks he’s treading on thin ice. Levi knew he could be intimidating, but his past isn’t anything he’s ashamed of. He doesn’t mind talking about it.

            “Yeah,” he replies, actually feeling excited that someone had asked about it. Levi’s not the type of person to talk about himself unless specifically asked. So the only people who know anything about him are Erwin, Hange, and Petra.  “My mother was from Ireland. I lived there until I was twelve, and then we moved to the states.”

            “Oh,” Eren says, his smile never failing to maintain its sparkle. “You don’t have an accent.”

            “No, I got rid of it a long time ago,” Levi replies. It was true. When he moved to the USA from Ireland, he had a very heavy accent, and he didn’t speak a lick of English. Not only was that a problem for public schools, but he was also teased mercilessly. He’s learned to ignore people’s opinions just as easy as he breathes, but little twelve-year-old Levi didn’t know how to take the sudden abuse in a language he didn’t understand. It would be hard for anyone. So, he got rid of it. It’s something he kind of regrets now. However, he can still slip into the accent without many problems.

            Eren’s smile seems to fall when he hears those words, but before Levi can comment on it, Erwin is standing from his chair.

            “Alright, may I have everyone’s attention?” His voice booms off of the wall. Several heads turn in his direction, and Levi startles at the loud noise. “Rehearsals will start in ten. We want to run through the whole thing at least twice before noon’s first showing. This is not a full dress rehearsal, but make sure you are wearing proper dance attire and the right shoes. I know this isn’t your first show, but seriously, wear the right shoes. There’s always one that refuses to learn this rule. If you cannot find or have forgotten your shoes, we have extra costume shoes in the back meant for dancing. Use them!” And with that, everyone starts to scramble around, looking for their dance shoes, and some rush off to the changing room upstairs to get out of their jeans.

            Levi looks at his bag and giving Eren a brief nod, he heads to change into something more comfortable for dancing in.

            Eight minutes later and Levi is standing backstage in comfy clothing, behind the fake door. Erwin’s out on stage at the moment, making sure the lighting looks good when Levi feels arms squeeze around his neck. “Levi! I’m so happy you’re back! It’s not the same without you, you know?” Levi lets out a low growl, knowing exactly who it is.

            “Hange, get the fuck off of me,” Levi demands, trying to push the co-director off of his shoulders. They only give him a laugh. Levi turns around to see that Hange is dressed completely in-costume. In a long, raggedy dress, they really don’t look like themselves, but Levi’s seen this character’s outfit so much. It looks familiar.

            “Aw, come on,” they fake pout, their Cheshire grin never leaving their lips, “I haven’t seen you in a week, and this is how you treat me.”

            Levi sighs, “Pronouns?” He knows he should’ve asked when he first saw them, but with a sneak attack like that, it’s hard to do anything.

            Hange squeals a bit, “She/her, thank you for asking. Are you ready?” She’s bouncing on the balls of her feet. She looks over his shoulder. “Where’s Petra?” Levi looks around, noticing that his bride is nowhere to be seen.

            So he only offers Hange a shrug. “I don’t know.” And with that, Hange bounces away. Only one minute left now until the rehearsals start. Despite how annoyed he might act around Hange, Levi’s very fond of her. She was the one who almost hired him on the spot, even after he bumbled around with her pronouns for forever. She took him under her wing and gave him a life on the stage. She might be a bit eccentric, but she’s also one of a kind. And Levi finds himself smiling like an idiot.

            He spots Eren a couple feet away. He’s swinging his foot back and forth, eyebrows scrunched. He’s done this before, right? Hesitantly, Levi closes the distance between himself and the brunet. “Are you okay?”

            Eren jumps slightly at Levi’s sudden presence. “Of course, I have,” he huffs, looking anywhere but where Levi is standing. “I’m just a little nervous is all.”

            “You have stage fright?” Levi blurts, wanting to smack himself with how impassive and unimpressed he sounds. _Smooth, Levi, smooth._

            Eren’s face turns red, probably taking Levi’s question as an insult. “I do _not_ have stage fright.”

            Levi lifts his hands, a sign of surrender. “Okay, kid, let’s dance.” Erwin shouts action and the first song starts up. Petra is waiting by the door when Levi gets back.

            “Hey, Levi!” She smiles, waving. Her strawberry blond hair is hanging loose which is odd. She usually has it up. She’s wearing a pair of black leggings with a long dress-like shirt that mimics her bride outfit perfectly. “Sorry, I’m a little late. Couldn’t find anyone to put up my hair.” She gives a _hmph_ and twirls the unused hair band on her finger.

            He takes it from her, and without having to be told, she turns her back to him. To a newcomer, this might look cute, but it’s become a routine for them. Levi does Petra’s hair for rehearsals almost all the time. Petra says it’s because when Levi does it, it doesn’t come loose at all.

            Why he continues to indulge her, he has no idea. He likes routine, he guesses, as he pulls her hair through the band once more.

            “We all missed you,” Petra says, trying to start a conversation before it was their cue to go on stage.

            “I was only gone a week,” he replies with an eye roll. He needs to change the topic; he doesn’t need any more of this mushy gooey stuff. “Who are playing the Americans this week?” He asks, looking over his work. It’s not the best bun he’s done, but it’ll do in a pinch. Actually, the messy appearance looks good on Petra.

            “Isabelle and Jean, I think. Didn’t you read the cast list?” He pats her head to let her know the hairdo is hair done, and she turns to face him.

            “I saw my name and your name, and then I skimmed.” He offers her a shrug. So, Isabelle was playing an American. That was interesting. She was usually an Irish dancer. He knows she’s been training to perform the American’s tap dance, but he didn’t know that she’d succeeded. An overwhelming sense of pride welled up in his chest, and he couldn’t help the small smile that came to his face.

            “I’m proud of her, too,” Petra says, giving him her own warm smile. Before he has time to reply, he hears their cue. Instinctively, he links his arm with Petra as they walk through the fake wooden doors. There are various shouts from the cast members as they make their way to the center of the stage, and sit down in two chairs that have been set out specifically for them.

            Levi puts on his well-worn smile, and he knows that his face will ache by the end of the day. He scoots closer to Petra, trying to make it look as real as possible when Hange comes up behind them. She places a hand on Levi’s shoulder and starts to sing the lyrics of a song even _he_ knows by now. Everyone joins in as the cast crowd around him, some of them patting his back and some kissing Petra’s cheek. The song continues with everyone wishing him love and happiness, and everything feels so familiar.

            But his favorite part is happening after this verse. As soon as they finish, they scatter. Some are going to clear out the chairs and tables from the stage, and others are holding their hands above their head and clapping, trying to get the nonexistent audience to clap along. Levi stands at the same time Petra does and gives her a little twirl. It’s here when he wonders why they have rehearsals in the first place. He knows this show like the back of his hand, and even a week away wouldn’t wash away the tap his feet have been doing in his sleep.

            He holds Petra against him as the cast makes a circle and dances around them, their feet tapping in time to the music. He knows that when there’s an audience, the tapping will go unheard, drowned out by audiences’ clapping along. It’s during this time that Levi finds himself zoning out, enjoying the way his feet move on by themselves, tapping and clicking against the stage. He can just sit back and feel the way his breath suddenly becomes short and his legs start to ache.

            As they break off and his groomsmen hop onto the tables that will seat audience members, Levi feels like he’s back home – practicing this on top his own kitchen table. (Although, he knows now that that was a very _bad_ idea, and he will never do it again.) He looks to his right – the way the choreography entails he do – and he sees Eren smiling into a crowd that isn’t there as his feet become an almost blur beneath him. _He’s not bad,_ Levi thinks. In his disgusting sweatshirt and tap shoes, the boy has successfully caught his attention.

            Levi turns around and grabs the broom the bride has handed him. The bridesmaids go up and perform their little jig, and Levi has to chance to see who's playing who, a feat he ignored until now. It looks like Mikasa and Annie are dancing, and to the right of Petra at that. To the left, Levi expects to see Isabelle, but she’s not there. Instead, it’s Krista and Ymir. Ymir was usually up in the “House” as he liked to call it, playing an instrument. The House was a little box at the top of the stage where they performed live music. Levi’s only been up there once or twice to test out acoustics, but it doesn’t surprise him any less when he realizes that Ymir is _good._ When did this happen? Had he seriously been gone for only a week?

            He finishes the song and his dance with the broom without a hitch. That’s Armin’s cue to get his perky ass down the stairs and sing one of their live songs. It’s Levi’s favorite part of the show. He can just sit down on his ass and watch Petra dance and Armin sing. There’s nothing better than that. Then there’s also the fact that this song never fails to give him chills. Back when he was living in Ireland, his mother would sing this to him every time he woke up from a nightmare. Armin’s voice was great, but it was in no way better than his mother’s.

            _The Voice_ was a nostalgic tune which he could listen to without having to worry about remembering steps. Unlike Petra, whom whenever heard the starting note, would freeze up and run over the dance in her head.

            But Petra has a smile on her face as she dances around the stage, kicking and spinning. It was absolutely stunning.

            Until…

            There was a loud crash, followed by a couple gasps from the bridesmaids. Instinctively, Levi leaps off his place on left side of the stage and runs over to the people crowding around in a circle. Armin’s stopped singing and has a hand covering his mouth. Levi pushes his way through the crowd, trying to ignore the questions being screamed over one another.

            When he breaks through the last wall of bodies, he left to a sight he wishes he’d never seen. Petra is lying on the floor, someone helping her sit up. Her foot is twisted in a way that it should _never_ be twisted. Levi feels himself cringe and involuntarily step away.

            Petra’s crying and covering her mouth, trying to hold in a scream. “Put your arms around me,” the person holding her says. She complies weakly, scrunching her eyes shut in pain. That’s when Levi notices that the person helping her is Eren. He scoops her up in his arms and stands up without another word.

            “Where are you going?” Someone yells from behind them.

            “Where do you think, horse-face? I’m taking her to the nearest medic!” Eren shouts in reply. He’s walked off the stage and out the door when Levi finally comes back to himself. Hurrying after them, he shouts out to Erwin, wherever he is, that he’s going with.

            He catches up with them without much problem, and only offers Eren a nod when he gives him a confused look. The park has opened by now, but there are only a few families running to go on the “Europe in the Air” ride, a simulation ride that makes Levi sick. Petra’s crying has gotten quieter when she sees the sun. The air is still a bit chilly, but the sun makes everything hot, especially her black dress shirt.

            “Where are we going?” She sniffles.

            “There’s always an ambulance at the front of the park,” Eren explains. “That’s where I used to work before joining the show.” He gives her one of those heart-melting smiles, but he doesn’t notice Levi’s eyes widen a fraction. How does one go from being an EMT to an Irish Step dancer? He’ll have to remember to ask.

            “The front of the park is half a mile away,” Levi notes out loud. Eren’s smile seems to fall when he realizes that, yeah, it is. “We’ll have to take a short cut.”

            Like hell Levi walks half a mile just to get from the parking lot to the theatre. The short-cut is still a hefty walk, but it’s not _that_ long. You just have to take a left by _Nature’s Gifts_ exhibit, a path hidden to everyone but employees. Sure, there might be killer wolves and pesky butterflies, but at least it’s quick. Cuts the time it takes to get to the front almost in half.

            The ambulance doesn’t give them much information before they’re whisking Petra away to the hospital, leaving them alone to walk back to the theatre.

            “Eren, what the hell happened?” Levi asked while they were on their way back to the theatre to break the news to everyone.

            “Petra overstepped on a turn and put too much weight on her foot. It would’ve been okay if she hadn’t lost her balance and fallen on it,” Eren recalls with a slight frown. “What are they going to do about the performance?”

            Levi let out a small sigh, dry washing his face with his hands. “I don’t know. We have understudies, but they won’t be able to get here in time for the first showing, and if they do manage to get here in time they’ll have to bust their asses off to get into costume to make it to the fucking stage. And none of them compare to Petra.” Levi looks to the sky for inspiration, but he’s only drowned in a depressing thought. “No one but Petra likes dancing with me, either.”

            “What?” Eren sputters, stopping his steps as he stares at Levi with wide eyes. In the natural sunlight, Levi decides that Eren had the greenest eyes he’s ever seen.

            “I’m not the most likable person if you haven’t figured that out,” Levi says with a blank expression, careful to keep his voice unbothered and cold. Eren’s mouth just stays set it an ‘o’ shape.

            “That’s bullshit,” he says finally, making Levi let out a surprised sound.  “You might be unapproachable and bad with words, but that doesn’t mean you’re not likable. I like you just fine.” Levi wouldn’t have thought much of it if it weren’t for the way Eren’s face suddenly looks like it’s been dipped in ketchup. “I mean, y-you – you’re n-not unlikable, o-okay?”

            Levi snorts when Eren huffs and continues to walk. “So what are we going to do?” He asks, trying desperately to get Levi’s attention off of him.

            “I guess we’ll have to cancel the show for today,” Levi replies, taking out his phone to see that Erwin has texted him once and Hange blew up his phone. He lets out an annoyed huff, pocketing his phone; he’ll tell them all what happened when he gets back to the theatre.

            Eren stops walking for the second time that day and just stares at Levi. “What is it, brat?”

            “We can’t cancel!” Eren yells. A few heads turn his direction and shrug it off, continuing whatever they were doing before. “There has to be some way to fix this.”

            “If we use one of the bridesmaids there will be an extra groomsman. And before you say that we can get rid of the extra, we can’t. One of the main points of the show is aesthetic. That is the base of the whole thing. Without it, it has nothing.” Levi crosses his arms, waiting for Eren to start walking again.

            But he doesn’t. Instead, he hangs his head and fucking _sulks_ the whole way back to the theatre. His feet kick up rocks and fallen gumballs, his head never raising until they got back to their destination.

            “What happened? Is Petra alright?” Erwin meets them at the back entrance and promptly lets them in with a barrage of questions.

            “No, Erwin, Petra is not fucking alright,” Levi says through his teeth. Despite acting calm and collected, Levi is upset. If Petra broke her foot, she might never dance again. And then who would he dance with? If Petra’s out, Levi should have half the mind to quit and go with her. Maybe he could move back to Ireland.

            _Woah, Levi, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself._

Eren still hasn’t lifted his head, but he hasn’t left Levi’s side either. “What’s your plan, Commander?” Levi asks, hoping Erwin will be a little more optimistic than he is, but alas Erwin’s face falls as well. His bushy eyebrows scrunch up, and his forehead wrinkles make themselves more obvious as ever as he chews on his bottom lip.

            “There’s nothing we can do,” he says finally. “The only understudy we have is Gunther, and it’s not like he can replace the bride or a bridesmaid. We’ll have to cancel, for today at least. I’ll have to break the news to Hange, and she’s not going to like it.” He places a fist to his forehead, letting out a deep sigh.

            “What’s going on?” Someone shouts, and Levi sees the familiar long, black hair darting their way forward. Eren looks up to the sound and holds out his arms just as Mikasa jumps into them. It shouldn’t sting the way he buries his face into her shoulder as she strokes his hair, quietly shushing him. Levi shouldn’t be feeling this way at all.

            “The shows being cancelled,” Eren mumbles, and dammit he sounds so heartbroken. “Petra can’t dance, and there’s no one that can replace her.” Mikasa glances at Erwin, who’s now buried his head and his hands and then to Levi who only nods his confirmation.

            “Eren can do it!” She shouts, startling the mentioned boy in her arms. His eyes widen as he suddenly begins to furiously shake his head.

            This gets Erwin’s attention, however. “That’s right!” He says, suddenly excited about something. There’s a bright smile on his face now, just from the chance of not having to tell Hange that all hope is lost. Levi, who has been standing silently for the last couple of minutes, is utterly confused.

            “What?”

            “When Eren first came in to audition, he only knew the bridesmaids and the bride’s part. We had to train him for everything else. We usually don’t do that, but Eren impressed us.” Erwin was almost bouncing on his feet; he looks so excited, which only confuses Levi more.

            “Why?” Levi asks, turning to the brunet.

            Eren flushes, mouth gaping for the right words. “Uh… Mikasa would teach me the steps when she came home from work, and I auditioned with what I knew.” Levi’s worried that if the boy’s face got any redder he’d turn into a tomato for sure.

            “Levi, this is perfect. We can get Gunther to fill in for Eren, and Eren can fill in for Petra!” Erwin looks way too excited for this and it’s about damn time Levi said something about it.

            “How’s that going to work?” He asks. “Is he going to dress like the bride and _be_ the bride? Or is he going to be another groom? With bridesmaids?” Eren’s face turns into a frown, and he shuffles the weight from one foot to the other.

            “What’s wrong with a gay wedding?” Mikasa snaps.

            Levi throws his hands up, shaking his head. “Nothing, nothing. I’m all for hashtag love is love or whatever. I’m just curious as to why he’d have _brides_ maids if he wasn’t a bride.” Eren makes an embarrassed sound as he throws his hands up to cover his reddening cheeks. _Cute,_ Levi thinks. And it was true, what he’d said. He was all for the idea of a gay marriage. Hell, he was as queer as a three dollar bill, but everything just didn’t _fit_ together. Maybe, with a little more preparation, they could work something out. But they only had an hour before the first show, and right now, all they needed was a bride, not a recasting of the whole show.

            “How do you feel about wearing a dress, Yeager?” Levi asks, narrowing his eyes. He doesn’t necessarily _like_ the idea of having to dance with someone other than Petra, but if it meant sparing himself from Hange’s wailing, then he would do anything. Dancing with someone _is_ about trust, but sometimes you have to just go with the flow and hope they won’t step on your feet. If Levi’s being honest, he doesn’t _dis_ trust Eren; there’s just a lack of knowledge between them. He’s curious more than anything.

            “L-Levi?” Eren sputters. “I haven’t danced the bride’s part since auditions. I’m not ready.”

            Erwin looks at the watch on his wrist. “We have thirty minutes before the doors open to start letting the audience in. That’s enough time to go through a stripped rehearsal. If you’re not cut out for it, we’ll close the doors. Granted, the higher-ups will be pissy, but I don’t give a shit about them.” He looks at the boy who is currently hyperventilating. “Eren, you’re our only hope. Please, at least try.”

            The boy nods and nervously chuckles, “I have to change my shoes.”

            Surprising everyone in the vicinity, Levi throws his head back and laughs a pure sound that Erwin hasn’t heard in a while. Regarding his funny behavior with a grin, Erwin says, “I’ll inform everyone. Hange will be ecstatic. Gunther will probably jump at the chance to perform. While I do that, Eren, change into the shoes. Mikasa, you have an extra pair, right?” Mikasa gives a brief nod before she’s pulling Eren into the dressing room.

            “Levi,” Erwin mutters, low enough so no one can hear him. “Are you okay with this?”

            Levi, still getting over his sudden outburst of laughter, nods. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

            Erwin gives him another smile, which Levi surprisingly returns. “Alright, get into costume. Tell everyone you see to do the same. We don’t have that much time.”

            Levi salutes, and rushes to get into his tux as soon as possible, directing everyone he sees to do the same. The show is going to continue whether it kills them or not.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! A couple things you should know about this fic. It is based on a theme park called Busch Gardens, and it’s set up by countries. I.E. Ireland, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Great Britain, France. There’s also a Canadian part of the park, although it isn’t on the map?? It’s very scattered. And the show is set in “Ireland” for obvious reasons >.> Anyway, what you need to know is that when they say that they’re going to “Germany” or “Italy.” They mean sections of the park.  
> OKAY!  
> Enjoy ^_^

 

 TLhree minutes later, Levi’s in the same seat he was sitting in when Petra had fallen, but this time, there’s a new bride dancing in his mind. Erwin said this was stripped rehearsal, so they’re skipping most of the music and songs and working strictly on the dances. The only thing Eren has to worry about is the solo at the beginning of the show. Everything else, he can just wing or make something up. He is the bride, so making something up wouldn’t look _that_ bad.

Levi finds that he’s actually nervous for the brunet. If he had to get on stage and wear a dress, he probably wouldn’t be the most comfortable dancer in the world. Only, Eren takes everything in stride, and his outfit has never been a concern for him. The only thing he worries about is the fact that he might be out of practice.

Levi’s biting his thumbnail off when the door at the top of the stairs open and Eren emerges in full costume. The first thing he notices is the dress. Usually seen on a certain strawberry blonde, Levi’s not sure if he will be able to get his heart to start beating again from the sight. The dress is off-white, nothing too special. It cuts off at the knees and has intricate Celtic designs crawling up the side. Long sleeves cover sun-kissed skin and the hood is pulled up over Eren’s chestnut hair.

Eren looks like a bride. Mikasa must have done his makeup and hair because his face is free of all acne and blemishes. Even though Levi can’t see all of Eren’s head, he _can_ see the brown extensions falling against his shoulders from under the hood. He looks absolutely stunning.

Levi doesn’t notice when Eren walks all the way down the stairs and stands right in front of him. “Um, Levi?”

Blinking away his thoughts and confusion over said thoughts, Levi supplies a “Yeah?”

Eren giggles a bit. “You were staring. I didn’t think I looked that bad.” Eren’s stark white teeth shine out behind lips of red. There’s a hint of glitter on his eyelids. _Krista,_ Levi thinks. If he looks at Eren close enough he can see little things that all the bridesmaids have. Krista and her glitter. Ymir and her extensions. Annie and red lips. Mikasa and her black stockings. Eren, somehow, combined all of these things to make something that looks _good._ A feat in which Levi thought impossible.

“Levi?”

“What?”

“You’re staring, again.” Eren snorts, and when he catches Levi looking at him, he gives a little twirl on his toes.

“Well, you don’t make a bad bride,” Levi returns his smile which causes heat to rise to Eren’s cheeks. “Let’s see how you dance first, okay?” Eren nods.

“Oh, my God, Eren!” Someone says behind them, and suddenly Eren is being tackled. “You look so cute!” Hange starts to pepper Eren’s face with kisses. “I didn’t think you’d actually be able to pull it off! I just thought you’d look like a man in a dress! But you actually look like Levi’s bride!”

Eren sputters for a response, but Levi thinks fast enough to save the kid from torture. “I thought you’d be all for going against the gender stereotype.”

Hange sticks out her tongue at Levi but refuses to let Eren go. “I’m not saying it’s bad, but I do have eyes. And my eyes were expecting to see a man in a dress.”

Levi rolls his eyes as he hears Erwin call out for them to get into positions for the Bride’s solo. He walks over to his spot on the floor, trying to look at the stairs and not the way Eren’s eyes sparkle with excitement. He almost bouncing on his feet, and to say that Levi finds this endearing is an understatement.

Armin walks down a couple of stairs and begins to sing his song. Levi counts the measures before going off to sit down on his usual chair to the left, near the fireplace. He watches as Armin walks down the rest of the stairs and takes Eren’s hand, walking him in the opposite direction of where Levi is sitting.

Levi can’t explain the pounding in his chest, the way his heart beats faster and faster. Is he nervous? He can’t be. He’s not even the one dancing. Maybe it’s because he has to dance with Eren by his side. He’s known this kid for all of five hours, and now he’s expected to dance with him? He’s expected to be _completely_ calm and collected? No, Levi allows himself the miniature panic attack he’s having. What if this all turns to shit, and Eren’s literally the _worst_ dancer ever.

_If that were the case, he wouldn’t even have a job here,_ Levi thinks, rolling his eyes at his own stupidity.

The music reaches a crescendo, and Eren twirls away from Armin, his dress billowing out around him. Time seems to stop for Levi as he sits there and watches Eren dance. He spins toward where he’s sitting and looks right at him as Eren does a high kick and another twirl. He bounces on his legs before bringing one up and tapping the other on the ground. A gorgeous smile adorns his face, and unlike most dancers, Levi can tell that’s it’s genuine. Instead of the fake smiles everyone puts on, including himself, Eren’s smile is real and dazzling as he dances to the other side of the stage. Not before giving Levi a little wave, as was choreographed.

However, when Petra waved to him like that Levi never had the urge to smile. When Eren did it, he couldn’t keep his lips from turning upward.

Eren blows a little kiss to the imaginary crowd and dances back to the bridesmaid, their cue to come in. If Levi’s being honest, Eren doesn’t look out of place dancing next to the rest of the girls. He’s just as graceful and seems like a feather, light as air. He’s poised and elegant, and he most certainly can’t be the same boy he’d talked to just a couple minutes ago.

Levi’s brain might be on overdrive because he’s zoning out. Or in? His vision tunnels into one dancer, his bride. His fake bride, of course. Because Eren is most  _ definitely  _ not his  _ real  _ bride. Everything else is blocked out, even the music, and it’s just Eren dancing with that ridiculously amazing smile on his face. Even when the groomsman come out to do their bit, his eyes stay locked to Eren’s still form at the fake bar.

And suddenly, the dance is over. The music has stopped, prompting Levi to get up and walk over to where Eren stood with his hands on his hips. The script calls for the groom to give his bride a kiss on the cheek, but this situation is a bit different, isn’t it? Would Eren be comfortable with that? Levi certainly doesn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. That would just make things weird.

So, instead of kissing him on the cheek, Levi awkwardly pats his shoulder and gave him a sincere smile. He hopes it will convey that Eren did well, and they won’t have a problem keeping him on the show. If he could get through the solo without a problem, he could most certainly get through everything else.

Eren turns to him, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of dancing. A gleam of sweat shows on his brow, and he’s panting from the exertion. Nevertheless, he looks like he’s glowing. And, to Levi’s surprise,  _ Eren’s  _ the one who plants a kiss on his cheeks, effectively leaving a red mark from his lipstick. At least no one will see him blush.

Suddenly, Hange’s voice pierces through the silence left behind by the music. Her shrill screeching makes Eren jump in Levi’s arms. “Eren! That was fantastic! This is so exciting! I can’t believe this! Eren, you’re a lifesaver!” She right beside them now, screaming into their ears. Levi winces and pulls his hand away to cover them.

Hange is still blabbing about how Eren was absolutely stunning when Erwin calls out, “Ten minutes ‘til doors open.” Before Levi can say anything to Eren, he’s being whisked away by his sister and the rest of the bridesmaids. It might be ten minutes until the doors opened, but it was about forty minutes until the show started. They wouldn’t be able to walk out onto the stage during those forty minutes, leaving almost thirty people to camp out backstage until the show started. This is the worst part of  _ everything.  _ All his coworkers mashed together, trying to do touchups and practice last-minute steps.

Levi cannot count the number of times his foot has been stepped on. Lucky for him, people tend to keep their distance, knowing he wasn’t really happy during this time.

Levi and Eren were the last people to be introduced to the stage, so while others file out when the time finally comes, they’re left alone for a couple minutes as the first song is sung. Levi finds himself looking over to his right where Eren is standing. He looks more stunning than he did thirty minutes ago, something Levi admits he thought impossible.

Somehow, Eren had incorporated his own little interpretation of the bride. He swapped out the bright red lipstick for a subtle pink color. His hair twisted up instead of hanging off his shoulder. Instead of glitter, he takes to a less flashy approach and draws on a few Celtic designs around his temple. Overall, he’s toned down the makeup, but somehow he looks more elegant.

But the only thing Levi can think is,  _ I can’t put up his hair. _

Stupid, really.

“I’m getting nervous,” Eren says in his deep voice, completely contradicting the look he’s managing to pull off. “What if people notice that I’m not a girl?”

“What does it matter?” Levi says. This doesn’t seem like the right thing to say as Eren starts to fidget with the hem of his dress. “Look, Eren, you were amazing during the solo. It’s obvious that you know your shit. You don’t even have to do this, but you’re saving this show. You don’t deserve to get shit for it. If  _ anyone  _ has a problem with it, they can come talk to me.” Levi lets out a huff, crossing his arms over his chest. He couldn’t imagine anyone calling Eren out because he was  _ helping  _ them. Sure, it might be a little  _ different,  _ but different wasn’t always bad. If Eren hadn’t stepped in to help them, then the show would’ve been cancelled, and they never would’ve seen it anyway. Eren is making all of this possible right now, and for that, he’s earned Levi’s respect.

Eren looks at him, his eyes wide and his mouth almost hitting the floor. Then, his lips turn up into the biggest smile Levi’s seen yet. A small giggle escapes his lips, and he raises his hand to his mouth to muffle it.

“What are you laughing about?” Levi snaps with no anger.

“That’s probably one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me.” The sparkle in his eyes gleams through the dim backstage lights. Levi thinks back to what he’s just said, but he can’t recall anything complimentary. He was just telling the truth.

Levi’s about to say as much, but the song completes; their cue to head onto the stage. They link arms, Eren offering him a warm smile. Levi replicates it, but not because he wants to. He’s putting on a show for their very real audience. However, he’d like to think that part of its genuine.

The first part of the show goes off without a hitch. Levi is once more awestruck by his bride’s performance. The audience seems absolutely taken with Eren, applauding and whooping when his solo is done. Some even stand on their feet, shouting their appraisal from their seats. Everything seems to be going according to the script.

It’s only when he stands on the table that he realizes things start to change. Everyone on stage gets the audience to clap as Levi taps to the rhythm. His legs kicking up and down on the stage without much thought. The smile has melted into his features, his cheeks going numb to the ache. And then everyone is shushed and the entire theatre is silenced. He starts to dance again, but he makes the mistake of looking to his right.

Maybe it’s not a mistake.

Eren is sitting on a barstool watching his feet kick to and fro with wide eyes and a curious smile. He’s seen Levi dance before, surely. Levi looks directly at him, and when his eyes move up to meet his, Levi momentarily forgets how to breathe. There’s a warm feeling in his chest. He realizes then that his plastered grin becomes real, and he’s directing it at Eren.

_ Oh, fuck!  _ He’s in uncharted territory. Abort! Abandon ship!

Somehow, he manages to stop on the last beat and hears the uproarious applause from the audience. He blames the automatic stop on his instinct and the fact that he’s been doing this for fucking ever. He gets off the table, and the rest of the show is one big blur. He remembers dancing some more and bowing at the end, but his mind is elsewhere, thinking of a bride with pretty eyes. He remembers standing by Eren’s side as he stands by the exit of the theatre and waves goodbye to the audience members and thanks them for coming. He stops occasionally for a picture with the children, but he doesn’t remember that much. At least no one notices that Eren isn’t exactly what his character is.

“You’re so pretty!” A little girl exclaims. “I wanna be like you when I grow up!” Eren sits there a bit stunned, a half smile on his face and a look of wonderment in his eyes. He can’t speak so he just nods.

He finally comes to his senses backstage, in the middle of changing out of his costume. He has to do something about this or else he’ll never get back to himself  _ truly.  _ Levi formulates a plan that could possibly make or break him. He doesn’t want to mess this up. He’s never really been into anyone before, and he doesn’t know whether he’s doing this right. What if Eren is actually disgusted with him? Does he even like men? Self-doubt threatens to overcome him, but Levi takes one look in the mirror and steels himself. Confidence is key, right? He quickly changes back into his sweatpants and checks the time. 12:45. Perfect.

He bolts back to the stage, hoping to catch Eren before he goes to lunch. As he looks around the empty theatre, he thinks he’s missed his chance. But it’s not long after disappointment starts to set in that the man in question comes bumbling out of the dressing room with Mikasa in tow. And that does nothing to quell the unpleasant feeling in his chest.

Nevertheless, he has his resolve. Eren notices him standing there, staring, and gives him a wave and a friendly grin. He leans over and whispers something to Mikasa. She doesn’t look happy, but with a slight frown and a nod she leaves him. Trotting merrily toward Levi, Eren says, “Hello!”

“Hey,” Levi replies, lamely. He can feel himself losing his nerve. His fingers threaten to fidget at his sides, but determined, he keeps them still. “I was wondering what you were doing for lunch today?” It comes out sounding like a question rather than a statement, showcasing his insecurities like art at a museum.

Eren’s smile falters a bit, and Levi finds that he’s started mentally cursing himself out. _God dammit, why does this brat have me so nervous? Pull your shit together!_ “I didn’t have anything really planned. Armin, Mikasa, and I were heading over to _Das Festhaus_ in Germany for lunch.”

Levi tries not to let the disappointment show on his face – he’s usually very good at that – but something must have hinted that he wasn’t very happy. Eren hurries to fix it, “You should come with us, Levi!” Bright white teeth stare out of the boy’s smile, and Levi will never admit it, but it’s the most gorgeous smile he’s ever seen in his life.

He’s about to agree in a heartbeat, but then he remembers.  _ Das Festhaus.  _ One of the only well-air-conditioned eating areas in the whole park. On a hot day like today, everyone and their mother will be crowding the  _ Festaus  _ with their sweating bodies and the entire odor that comes with it. The idea of sitting beside some sweaty family of five on one of the long benches that many other gross people have sit on makes the idea very,  _ very  _ unappealing. Plus the food is not that good and overpriced even with their employee discount.

But he doesn’t want to turn down Eren.

Before he can answer, the mentioned boy says, “Or maybe just me and you go get lunch in Italy. I haven’t seen their show yet!”

Levi can’t hold back his smile. Italy, outside, spaced, and up to his cleanly standards. He can feel his eyes scrunch up, his nose wrinkling slightly, and he knows that he hasn’t smiled like this in a long time. It doesn’t make sense why he feels so happy. He hasn’t even known Eren that long. Not even a full twenty-four hours, but he can’t help but feel content with the way things are going.

“I’d like that,” Levi breathes, teeth peeking out behind his lips. “I’d like that a lot.”

He follows Eren out of the theatre and watches as he waves his friends along. They walk side by side in the direction of Italy. If they’re lucky, they can get there, get their food, and find decent seating before the show starts. It wasn’t really that interesting, in Levi’s opinion, but it was impressive. A marching band performs on a stage out in the hot sun at least four times a day. The music was good, and so was the food. And honestly, Levi cares about none of that. He’s focused on the boy with bright eyes beside him. He’s the only reason Levi’s here and not holed up in the dressing room eating the chicken salad sandwich he’d packed.

“You were really good today,” Eren whispers. Maybe he didn’t whisper, but with the loud noises of the park, Levi has to strain to hear him. Even so, he can feel color painting his cheeks as he receives the compliment.  _ Jesus, what am I? A schoolgirl fawning over the jock? _

_ Yes. _

“You weren’t so bad yourself,” he replies, trying not to let Eren figure out what he’d been thinking. “How do you do it?  _ I _ can’t even dance the girls’ parts.” He mutters it mostly to himself, but Eren just snorts.

“Mikasa taught me. She took lessons ever since she was young, and when my family adopted her, they encouraged her to keep going with it. She was a prodigy.” Levi can tell. Mikasa dances the grace and poise of the most seasoned veterans. Far outshining the rest of them, Mikasa didn’t have a problem being hired when they put out an audition call. She was as good as, if not better than Levi himself.

“I was preoccupied with video games and other teenager stuff to really think about it, but when we moved in together a little over a year ago, she’d always come home and practice her steps for the show. One day, I asked her to teach me. And she did.”

They are approaching the dining area, and sadly, Eren stopped talking to order food. When they finally sit down at a table Levi has other questions. “How did you go from an EMT to an Irish Step Dancer?”

Eren pauses in between bites of egg parmesan to answer. “Well, I went to school for nursing. I go back in the fall to finish my last year. But I’ve always had an interest in medicine. I started volunteering with the Rescue Squad straight out of high school. I took all the training and everything. And I enjoyed helping people. Last summer, Mikasa said she got the job here, and I applied to be a volunteer EMT. It was just sort of downhill from there. I got into Irish Step Dancing when Mikasa came home and that’s how I’m here today.” 

Levi pauses mid-chew to look at him. Eren must’ve been really dedicated to Irish Step Dancing to learn anything he could from his sister. And Levi can’t even imagine starting at Eren’s age. Starting anything late can really mess everything up, and it makes Levi cringe just thinking about it. 

But seeing Eren dance… he could’ve fooled Levi. When he first danced, Levi could’ve sworn that he’d been doing this his whole life. 

“You’re very good,” Levi blurts out. “You know, for starting so late in life, you’re not as bad as I would’ve thought.” 

Eren laughs, throwing his hair out of his face, and says, “I guess when I wanna do something, I put everything I am into it.” He sends over a bright smile, and Levi’s heart starts beating fast, his own lips threatening to turn up in response. 

“I can tell.” 

“What about you then, Levi?” Eren asks. “I’ve heard so much about your dancing, but I’ve never really heard anything about  _ you.  _ Do you have any other hobbies?” 

Levi’s cheeks threaten to redden when he hears that Eren’s heard of his dancing, but he’s sure his face is on fire when he realizes that he has no idea how to answer him. Does he have any habits, any other talents? He can marathon a whole season of Supernatural in one night, which should be physically impossible but he does it anyway. He cleans his apartment when he’s bored, which has been a lot lately, but he doesn’t want to bore Eren with what kind of cleaning products he uses. 

“Uh…” Levi’s gaze flicks from table to table, looking for anything that might give him  _ something  _ to say. His gaze lands on a kid with ice cream running down his hand, and his gags quietly to himself. Okay, bad decision. He turns back to Eren, who’s looking at him expectantly. “I like to watch movies a lot. I don’t really do that much outside of this.” He gestures around at the theme park. 

Eren’s mouth drops open as he replies with, “Have you seen the new Star Wars movie?” 

“Are you kidding?” Levi says, and seeing Eren’s face start to fall, he quickly fixes himself with what he was going to say. “Who hasn’t?” 

A laugh rings out over the tables, and Levi’s sure that he’s never heard anything more beautiful. “I love Star Wars! I didn’t see you as a giant nerd, like me.” He picks up his water and takes a sip, only stopping when he see the curious look on Levi’s face. “What?” 

“How do you see me?” Levi keeps his tone soft, curious, as to let Eren know that he’s not offended. Not yet, anyway. 

Eren looks thoughtful for a moment, setting his cup down. He leans forward onto his elbows and looks through narrowed eyes. Levi can’t tell if it’s from the sun or he’s just trying to figure him out. “I honestly don’t know. I thought you’d be untouchable, unapproachable, cold even. But you’re not. Surprisingly, you’re also human. You eat, laugh, and shit like that rest of us. And… I like it. I like you.” Eren’s cheeks redden and Levi’s not sure when he started talking to a tomato. A laugh bubbles up in his chest, and it spills past his lips. 

Levi’s gaze softens as he sees Eren look down at his lap, smile gone and eyes looking shiny. And he feels like the biggest ass in the world. Eren probably thought he was laughing at him, and he was  _ not.  _ He was just happy. People laugh when they’re happy, right? Because he knows now that these weird feelings he’s been having aren’t at all weird. Eren feels the same way. “I’m sorry,” Levi says, and that doesn’t seem to brighten Eren’s mood. Or great, this is starting to sound like a rejection. “No, I mean, yes I like you, too. I’m not laughing at you, and I’m sorry about this, and I’m really bad at this and… gah… Would you like to go out for coffee sometime?” 

Eren is the sun in that moment, shining down on everything around him. He brightens up the table, the dining area, even the whole damn park. His eyes shine brightly as he nods his head yes, unable to move his lips from their permanent residence on his face as a smile. Eren is the sun. 

Levi can do nothing but smile back, trying to match the enthusiasm and excitement pouring out from Eren. If anyone were to look upon them, they would see nothing but two dorks, smiling at each other, unable to find words. 

“I can tell,” Eren says after a while. 

“What?” 

“That you’ve never done this before.” 

“Oh my, God. You’re a brat.” 

And Eren just laughs, kicking Levi’s feet under the table. 

 


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Second show and a heckler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the finale. When I started writing this, I had no idea how much attention this was going to get, but wow! Thank you all so much! Every comment and kudos gives me so much inspiration. Thank you guys for sticking with me for so long!  
> I’m sorry this is really late, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I GOT TENDONITIS! >.>  
> TW: There is a homophobic slur and a heckler in the crowd. Also implications of child abuse, murder, and Carla’s death. Honestly, when I started writing this, I thought it was just going to be a fluffy oneshot, and I got pretty heavy in some parts of this chapter. Though, in my opinion, it’s very brief. However, if any of these things make you uncomfortable, I implore you to skip it.

When Eren finishes eating, Levi packs up all the trash and throws it away politely. Because people who leave their leftovers for the park employees to pick up are disgusting human beings and don’t deserve to even be here. Ungrateful bastards.

            They have a little bit of time before their second performance, so they take their time walking back, talking about how maybe they should take the SkyLift. A big box that hangs from a line in the sky and that will take them to Germany first and then to Scotland. From there, they’d be able to walk. It isn’t exactly faster than walking, far from it. But it gives them a hell of a view.

            While they’re waiting in line, Eren starts up another conversation. “What about you, Levi? What was your life like in Ireland? I’ve always wanted to go, but you know, money and whatnot.” He twists his face into something resembles a grimace.

            “Well…” Levi starts, trying to think of something interesting. In truth, he doesn’t remember that much of Ireland. Just that pub that his mother worked at and he’d sit at the bar and do his homework. He remembers his home and his sheepdog, _Croí_ , although they didn’t have any sheep. He lived in a suburb; not some big city or countryside. His life in Ireland was relatively boring. “I don’t remember that much,” he states, honestly. “My mother worked as a barmaid, and my father worked in business.”

            Eren, dare he say, looks a bit disappointed. “Why’d you move to America?” They move forward in line so they’re the next one to get into the giant, swinging death trap.

            And here’s the question that everyone asks. _Why’d you move away from home?_ And, God, he hates that question. He hates it with everything he is because he doesn’t like telling people why. Sometimes he’d just say because his mother wanted to. Other times he wouldn’t even dignify the question with a response. But Eren’s different. He _likes_ Eren. He deserves to know the truth.

            “My father was-”

            “Alright, next!” The supervisor yells, cutting Levi off from his big reveal. Eren gives him an excited smile and grabs his hand. Levi’s heart shouldn’t beat this fast at the simple contact, but he lets out a laugh as Eren drags him into the bright yellow cart. When they’re securely in, ascending toward the sky, bumping knees, Eren prompts him to continue with his story with an eyebrow raise.

            “My father was murdered.” A noise escapes Eren’s mouth that sounds like one of disbelief and sympathy, but Levi raises his hand, intent on telling him the full story. “He was caught up in some shady shit, and the police ruled it as a hit and run. But Mom never believed it. She moved out of the country because of it, so it must’ve been serious. It was just… God, I don’t remember that much. I don’t even remember hearing about her talking about the move. She just shook me awake one day after the funeral. My bags were all packed and we were on a plane to North America by that afternoon.” Levi’s eyebrows scrunch up as he thinks back on how weird his situation was. “I came to America, not knowing any English. That’s when I met Farlan and Isabel. They taught me the language, as well as two ten-year-olds could teach another ten-year-old.” Levi was quiet for a long time, looking over the side of the park, seeing the families like little ants below him. “And I taught them my language, as well as how to Step Dance. We’ve been joined at the hip ever since.” The SkyLine goes through a rollercoaster descending in the first steep drop.

            Levi flashes Eren a small smile. “A bit dark, but _sin an saol_.”

Eren smiles at the new language, looking at Levi without sympathy and pity, but interest. His eyes are sparkling in the sun, and his hair looks so soft that Levi can reach out and touch it. “What does that mean?”

            “ _C’est la vie._ That’s life, or shit happens.” Levi grins back, and they stay like that for a long time, trying to figure each other out. Eren looking at him like he was the most interesting thing, and Levi looking at the boy like he was the sun. If anyone were to look at them, they wouldn’t notice because they were so intrigued with each other.

            And finally they descended into Scotland, and they finally got off. The trip back to the theatre was spent in relatively comfortable silence.

 

///

 

            It’s the second show of the day, and Levi can’t really find it in himself to be annoyed with the commotion going on backstage. If anyone were to _really_ look at him, they’d see the tiniest of smiles on his face. But no one ever looks at him, except maybe Hange and Erwin.

            And Eren.

            His smile grows as he thinks about their awkward lunch conversation, and everything that happened afterward. He’d thought he’d given too much of himself away. He’d thought that Eren would think that he was weird and didn’t want to talk to him _ever_ again.  Levi thought he’d been _this_ close to ruining it for himself, but Eren had taken everything he’d said with stride. They stepped on each other’s toes quite a bit, and he’s not talking about dancing. In a way, it only added to the charm that was Eren Yeager.

            Speaking of the brat, which was all Levi could do now, he’d been whisked away to get ready as soon as they walked through the door. He would’ve found it annoying if he wasn’t currently floating on cloud nine right now. The feeling floating through him… He doesn’t know where they came from, or where they’ve been hiding, but he knows that he wants to keep them locked away in himself forever. It was almost surreal, and for the first time in a long time, he is _excited_ to dance with someone.

            He loves dancing, there’s no question about that, but it’s his job. After a while, no matter what you do, it tends to get old and tedious. But Eren seemed to bring a new spark into his job. It’s refreshing, and it’s opened Levi’s eyes quite a bit. He’s _happy_ that he has to dance with someone. Petra’s perfect, he knows this. He’s her dancing partner, but Eren… Eren just makes everything a little bit brighter.

            He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts, as he puts on the Groom’s tux. Levi really can’t wait to get the day done. He feels like today is the beginning of a new start to his life. And he can’t wait to get on with it.

            Before he can think about it more in depth, Eren walks up behind him. He’s back to wearing his lovely gown, extensions in his hair tied back into a bun. His eyes shine through the backstage lighting, and Levi realizes then that Eren is probably the most beautiful human being he’s ever set his eyes on. It’s a surreal feeling, one that blinds and doesn’t take prisoners, to know that this is it. You’ll never see anyone as beautiful as the one standing inches from you.

            “Hi, Levi!” He waves his hand back and worth, and Levi can’t help but feel his lips turn upward without his consent. He has no control over himself when Eren’s around, and he doesn’t know if he hates or loves it.

            “Hello, Eren.”

            “I was thinking,” he starts, looking over his shoulder at nothing in particular. “When we’re doing the duet at the end, I think it would look better if we held hands.” If Levi was drinking water at the time, he probably would’ve spit all over Eren. _Hold hands? Why?_

“I know, it sounds stupid, but just hear me out, okay? All of the bridesmaids are holding hands with their respective groomsman, why wouldn’t the _bride and groom_ hold hands? I mean we talk about aesthetics all the fucking time, so why is it so… _vanilla_ between the _actual_ married couple?” Eren’s face is beat red, and he won’t look Levi in the eye. It’s quite adorable actually, how embarrassed Eren is over something as simple as hand-holding. In truth, it was actually Levi who requested that be changed. The couple was originally supposed to hold hands during the end duet, but Levi isn’t very fond of touching another person’s sweaty hands.

            So, he changed it. Just for his performance, though. Hange and Erwin seemed to take his comfort into consideration, and it wasn’t like he was changing half the show. So, why would they not allow him to change it?

            Although, the thought of holding Eren’s hand at the end of the show didn’t disgust him as much as it usually did. He still didn’t want to hold hands after all the sweat from dancing had accumulated on their palms, but if Eren was this passionate about it, he can change.

            So Levi says, “Eren, we can hold hands, alright?” Eren’s red face breaks into a breathtaking smile, and Levi can feel all the air leave his lungs as Eren leans forward and wraps him in his arms.

            “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

            “It’s okay, really. It’s not that big of a deal.”

            Eren’s ears perked up as the music floated through from the stage. Levi hadn’t even noticed that everyone backstage had walked to get into positions.

            The second show of the day was always the worst, in Levi’s opinion. The ensemble usually gets rid of their nerves and grows complacent on stage. While this is sometimes a good thing, it’s mostly horrible. While dancing on the stage, you can _never_ grow comfortable. Complacency means they grow confident in their steps, and no one can convince them they’re wrong. They’ve had more accidents happen in the second showing of the day than any other showing.

            Levi hates it, and he still had two more to do after this.

            He hears Erwin start to sing the song that starts off the show, a song he knows by heart, but refuses to sing.

            He guides Eren to the door where they’re supposed to exit, and they wait. Levi’s comfortable just riding out the silence, but Eren says, “I was thinking about our conversation earlier.” He pauses, his thoughts flashing on his face, trying to think if he should say anything at all. “My dad’s a dick.”

            Levi sputters, head whipping to look at the boy beside him. Eren just stares at the blank wood, not blinking. “He was an alcoholic, and after my mom died, he sort of… got worse. He lost his job, and spent all the money on booze.” Levi didn’t see how this qualified him as _dick._ He sounded like a sad old man who has problems with coping, but he didn’t say anything. He just let Eren continue to stare at the door. “He wasn’t very nice when he was drunk. After… a while, Mikasa finally got me out of the house. After he…” Eren stutters, tripping over his own words, but Levi pretty much understands what he’s trying to say.

            Levi’s never been good with words, you see. When Isabel’s grandfather died, he’d surprised her with ice cream and a Disney marathon. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t offer words of comfort because he didn’t know how. The only thing he could do for her was be there. Let her get tears and snot on his shirt while Ariel sang about her love for the prince. He rubbed her back as she fell asleep while watching Aladdin showing his princess the world below.

            So, when Eren says something like this, Levi wishes he had a copy of _Brave_ he could shove in a DVD player. Alas, they were about to go on stage, and Levi knows that if doesn’t say anything, it’d be eating at him the whole time he’s on stage.

            But Levi isn’t one with words, so he pulls Eren into an awkward hug. It doesn’t last long, thank God, but the message seems to come across to Eren. He’s brightened up considerably. And just then, it’s their cue to walk onto the stage. Levi plasters on that brilliantly fake smile and tangles his fingers in with Eren’s, leading him out of the door he’d found so interesting only moments before.

            Despite popular belief, ignoring the audience isn’t that hard. Or maybe it’s the fact that he’s _supposed_ to look straight into the crowd while he’s dancing. Either way, he finds it very easy to block out all of the noise and the lights and just _dance._ Dancing is all he’s good for, and it’s not like a couple of excited people are going to take away his focus. It’s his job to get them to enjoy themselves, but first he has to not fall on his ass – Sorry, Petra.

            They’re nearing the end of the show, and surprisingly, everything has gone well. Eren’s solo was perfect. Levi’s dance on the table didn’t end in disaster, and they only had to do the curtain call and that was that. Probably one of the best second shows they’ve done in a while. It wasn’t perfect. There was a wardrobe malfunction up the stairs where Mikasa tripped over Sasha’s leotard, which was just lying out in the open. Luckily, Mikasa’s quick on her feet and didn’t fall down the stairs. Jean stepped on Levi’s foot more than once, but Levi took it in stride and stepped on his feet right back, trying to play off the loser’s mistake as part of the show. Other than that, the show was going relatively well.

            And Levi should’ve never grown complacent.

            He and Eren link hands once again to take their bow, and smothered in the applause of the crowd, Levi can hear. “Is that a dude?” Levi’s eyes snap up, looking for the person calling them out. “Bro, a fag’s on the stage.” Levi catches sight of the moron. He isn’t anything special. A proverbial douche bag, if you will. His white t-shirt is inside out, but Levi can still see the outline of a very naked woman on his chest. His Red Skins hat’s on backwards, and the scruff on his chin that he probably called stubble looks more like someone had thrown up on his face. He raises his voice and is now yelling to everyone that would listen that Eren was a male. He shouts slurs and obscenities that are _almost_ drowned out by the sound of the crowd.

            He only continues on for about three more seconds before security latches themselves onto each arm and drags him out of the theatre. For a split second before Levi remembers that he’s still on stage, and there’s another second before he realizes that Eren is squeezing his hand a little too tightly. It’s all of a couple seconds, but it feels like hours before Levi realizes what he’s supposed to be doing. He yanks Eren back by his hand just in time for Erwin and Hange to go on stage and take their bow. The audience resumes cheering and laughing and clapping just the same, but it’s too loud for Levi now. The lights are too bright. The smile on the person who he’s holding hands with is watered down and just looks _wrong_. The music is sweeping through him, making his heart pound like he’s on a rollercoaster and not dancing on a stage. This wasn’t supposed to happen! You’d think people would have a little bit of decency!

            When the music stops, they’re supposed to head up the aisles and stand in the doorway, waving to people as they went out, but Eren seemed to have other plans. He took the lead and hurried completely off stage, seeming to forget that he is still latched to Levi.

            They’re in the dressing room, Eren wiping furiously at his eye make-up, before Levi speaks up. “Eren…” He wants to say more, wants to ask if he’s okay, but he can see it in the smeared eyeliner that he’s not. This was the reason that he didn’t want to do it in the first place. He didn’t want anyone to look at him and laugh. He just wanted to do what he loved to do and not get called out or ridiculed. Levi didn’t know how to handle this situation. How could he? Sure, there have been a _few_ hecklers in a crowd, but they were rare, and it had _never_ been this bad.

            So, instead of saying anything, Levi reaches a hand out, but Eren shrugs away from it. He’s rubbing furiously at his lips, but Levi doesn’t see any tears. He turns around, not sure what he’s going to do yet, but knowing that he’s going to do _something._ Mikasa is standing in the doorway, and he only lowers his chin and stares at her, asking silently, _Are you going to take care of him?_

            Mikasa looks at Eren who has started pulling down his hair, and she shakes her. _Yes, of course._ And their silent conversation is over, and Levi is out of the theatre in less than a minute, still in full costume. Erwin would yell at him about walking in the park with these shoes on, but they’re Levi’s shoes, dammit, and he’ll do whatever the hell he wants.           

            He stops by the gate behind the theatre, hoping to find the head of security. “Levi, what can I do for you?” Pixis was a man who always had a sour expression on his face, like he’d eaten too many sour candies as a kid, and his face froze like that. However, he never bullshitted Levi, and for that he can be grateful.        

            “Where’d you put the asshole that decided now was a good time to be a complete and utter dick?” Levi’s nostrils flare, and he can’t remember when he’s been this angry. This anger is different somehow, it snuck up on him while he was leaving Eren. This anger settled into his chest slowly, making homage before he even knew it was there.

            “I sent Shadis to escort him out of the park.” Levi gives him a curt nod, and a thank you for his time.

            Levi only now realizes that he has a decision to make. Does he go after this creep, and show him a thing or two about _proper fucking etiquette,_ or does he go and be with Eren? Does he defend the honor of his bride or stay with him when he needs Levi the most? Does he keep his head on his shoulders our does he let loose the rage that’s built up within him.

            He doesn’t realize that he’s already made his choice until he’s walking back into the theatre and up the steps. Sasha’s standing guard by the door, head resting against the door frame. She looks glum, and the nutrition bar in her hand doesn’t even seem to cheer her up. Levi doesn’t think he’s ever seen her this unhappy when there’s food in her hand, and it does little to settle the tumbling of his stomach.

            “How’s Eren?” He asks though he doesn’t expect a helpful reply.

            Sasha sighs and sits up a little straighter. “He’s doing better than I would have. It wasn’t even me that was the object of ridicule today, and I already feel like I’m about to cry.” She frowns.

            The words that come out of Levi’s mouth next surprise even him. “We’re a team, a family. If one of us is hurt, we’re all hurt.” Sasha nods, but he can see her bottom lip trembling. It’s funny how a couple little words shouted across the theatre by someone so insignificant can affect them like this. It brings back the feelings of anger, but it’s somber now, grayed by the reality of how words do hurt. Especially to someone like Eren. Someone so innocent and unassuming, who just wants to do what he loves without being judged or slammed. Levi thought he was amazing on stage today, but his thoughts will only help Eren but so much.

            Without any parting words to Sasha, Levi opens the dressing room door. Eren has taken off the dress and has replaced it with a baggy sweatshirt with the theme park’s logo on the front of it. He’s sitting on the small sofa stuffed in the corner of the room, and Mikasa is squeezed in beside him. She has a hand over his shoulder, and she’s shushing him, trying to calm the rushed, blubbering words that Levi can’t make out.

            Mikasa lifts her head to fix him with a glare, but once that she sees it’s Levi, her gaze softens. She tilts her head, indicating for him to come closer. He does. She untangles herself from Eren, and gets up, brushing past Levi as she exits the dressing room.

            Eren is still sniffling when Levi sits down beside him. The atmosphere in the room is tinted by the events that occurred earlier. It’s not uncomfortable, per se, just heavy, anticipating. And Levi realizes that he has no idea what to say or do, and he’s wishing for the second time that day that he had a copy of _Lilo and Stitch_. And Vodka. Some Vodka would be nice right about now.

            “I don’t know why I went through with this.” Eren’s voice is quiet and broken, and Levi almost didn’t catch what he was saying. It stirs something in the pit of his stomach. It makes his head spin, and he’s left with his thoughts.

            “You went through with this because we needed you. You saved our asses today.” Eren looks up at him with red-rimmed eyes, and there’s a pang in Levi’s chest. It reverberates around his lungs, making his heart race faster. “And you can’t shut down and question your life every time someone is an asshole.” Eren lowers his head again, but Levi takes his chin between his thumb and forefinger, letting his eyes meet Levi’s “You need to keep your head up. They can’t hurt you if you don’t let them.”

            “It’s hard,” Eren replies, weakly, not breaking eye contact. “It’s hard to work your ass off and then have someone shit all over it.”

            “I know,” Levi says softly. “And it won’t get easier until you realize that this isn’t the last the time someone is going to be an asshat. Pick yourself up, Eren. Dust off yourself, and keep going. We still have one more show to do today.”

            Eren’s eyes widen, but he lets a timid smile cross his face. It doesn’t quite light up the entire universe the way Levi is used to by now, but it definitely makes the hurting in his chest ease a little.

            “Come on, kid. You want gelato?” Eren barks out a laugh before nodding his head yes.

           

            Gelato eaten and Eren’s spirits successfully raised, Levi gets a text from Erwin.

 

_Eyebrows :P  : Are you still signed up for FIENDS?_

            The thought of the Halloween show they put on makes Levi groan almost slam his face against the table. He has half the mind to tell Erwin to shove it, that he’s had enough of that damn show, but when he hears Eren laugh at the expression on his face, he can’t help another thought that crosses his mind.

            “Hey, you ever seen our Halloween show?” Levi asks, looking at Eren with a blank expression.        

            Eren just shakes his head. “I’m in school when you guys put on the whole Halloween thing. Is it fun?”

            “Hell, no. It’s stupid as fuck.” At Eren’s disappointed expression, Levi quickly amends things by saying, “It’s a spin-off of the whole Frankenstein thing. There’s a bunch of stupid pop culture references that I don’t understand, and I spend the whole first half of the show in a coffin. Only to burst out and be the flamboyant vampire and sing _You Give Love A Bad Name._ ”

            Eren sputters. “You can sing?”

            “That’s irrelevant, Eren, listen. In the show, there’s a bunch of nurses with bright pink wigs and skimpy outfits.”

            “Why are you telling me this?”

            “Petra broke her foot, and she’s probably not going to be able to dance in the Halloween show.”

            Eren’s shaking his head fervently, but there’s a toothy grin on his face as he tries to hold back his giggles. “No!”

            “You’d be one hell of a nurse, though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End?
> 
> kudos and comments of all kind are appreciated. Thank you to everyone who stuck around for so long and put up with this long wait!


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